


Tora's Little Hamster

by strawberry_tora



Category: Midnight Poppy Land (Webcomic)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Gen, I'm Bad At Summaries, I'm Bad At Tagging, My First AO3 Post, Not Beta Read, hamster poppy, now i know where this is heading, some swearing oops
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-15 03:33:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28681875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strawberry_tora/pseuds/strawberry_tora
Summary: Quincey is convinced Tora needs a companion to fill that dark grumpy heart of his but an actual person isn't going to cut it. Well, time to head to the pet shop I guess!
Relationships: Tora/Poppy Wilkes
Comments: 34
Kudos: 54





	1. Not getting a pet

**Author's Note:**

> Super nervous because this is my first time writing a fanfic but also excited ! I got this idea when I went to Petco not too long ago and saw a cute gerbil. I hope you enjoy the story ! Constructive criticism / feedback is appreciated <3 thank you !

“Would ya quit your whining Quince?” Tora hissed at the blonde man sitting in the passenger seat besides him. 

The blonde man let out a small sigh and crossed his arm in front of his chest, “Honey, I'm not complaining. I’m simply explaining how delightful it would be to have a lil friend at home to keep you company” Quincey said sweetly before turning his head towards the window and mumbling, “Maybe that would help fill that black grumpy heart of yours.”

Tora snapped his head towards him and smacked the backside of his head, “Watch it”

Quincey let out a small yelp and turned back to the tall man as he rubbed the back of his head. He noticed Tora's mood becoming worse and worse as the days went by. It was no surprise that his 6’3 childhood friend was under a considerable amount of stress; that goes without saying when being in the Balthuman Clan. Tora always seemed to be in a sour mood. Quincey always tried dragging him to parties and nightclubs in hopes that he would find someone, anyone ! But lo and behold, he always ended up in the corner of whatever establishment they attended in full bodyguard mood, rejecting every girl that approached him within seconds. He didn’t like seeing his friend all alone. Sure, Tora had Quincey but the only times they would hang out would be for beta-reading or to serve as bodyguard to the heir of the Balthuman Clan. 

Tora drove into the parking lot of the Narin City Mall and circled around for a little bit before seeing an empty slot. He parked the car, sighing and learning back on his seat.

“Alright. We’re here. What’d you want to get from here?” he asked the man beside him as he pulled out a cigarette from his back pocket and lit it up.

Quincey straightened up as he was still recovering from the head smack he had received only a few minutes ago. 

“Well~” he sang enthusiastically as he pulled out his phone. Tora glared at him as he put out the cigarette that had been hanging from his lips onto the center console ashtray. He knew that whatever was about to come out of the blonde man’s mouth was about to be the same shit they’ve been going back and forth on for over a week now.

“Quince if it's about getting a pet, forget it. I ain’t getting an animal,” he said bluntly. 

Quincey shook his head and showed him the website of the pet shop located inside the mall, “You need to give it a chance before knocking it down. Look at how cute the puppies are !” he said with excitement as he scrolled through the images of all the animals.

“I barely have time for your ass, what makes ya think I have time for a LIVING thing,” now annoyed at the blonde man’s persistence 

“Not to mention how delicate those little shits can be” 

“Oh please, don't be dramatic,” Quincey dismissed him as he gathered his stuff and made his way out the car. Tora begrudgingly followed him, locking the car behind him.

Quincey happily strolled to the pet shop inside the mall as Tora trailed behind him. There was no way he was walking out of that mall with a pet.

\----------

Quincey happily walked into the pet store and was immediately greeted by a store employee. They chatted for a bit before the employee directed them to the back of the store where all the animals were located. Quincey gasped as he ran over to the colorful birds that were sitting on a perch inside the glass casing. 

“Booboo look ! Aren’t they gorgeous?” he asked excitedly as he turned to look at the unimpressed giant behind him. 

“Ain’t getting a bird.” 

Quincey huffed and continued to make his way through each aisle to look at all the other animals. 

Quincey had gotten a phone call and stepped away from the animals, roaming around other areas of the store to pick up the call. This left Tora alone. At first he didn’t bother to look at the animals.

_ This wasn’t my idea anyways. I ain’t getting an animal. _

However, he slowly became bored waiting for Quincey to come back and slowly made his way around the different aisles, looking at all the animals. He saw more birds, a couple of snakes, lizard, and a wall top to bottom with a wide assortment of fish species. Finally, he landed on the rodents; a variety of gerbils, rats, guinea pigs, and hamsters. He continued to walk down the aisle until he stood in front of the three glass cases stacked upon one another with hamsters. He watched as some of them ate, some drank water, and some even ran on their hamster wheel. But one caught his attention specifically. A small cream colored hamster with the most squishable cheeks he’s ever seen on any living thing. The little creature was hiding inside a little strawberry hideout, yet its little head peaked out from it as it watched Tora. 

Tora couldn't help but chuckle at the little thing staring his way. He bent down to get a better look at the small hamster when the same employee from before approached him.

“Her name is Poppylan, Poppy for short,” she said with a small smile.

“Huh?” 

“That little hamster you’re looking at. Her name is Poppylan. She’s a Syrian hamster also known as the teddy bear hamsters. She's pretty cute, isn't she?” 

By this time Quincey was done with his phone call and had returned to stand beside Tora. He noticed Tora and the employee talking, crouching down to one specific enclosure. He smirked to himself.

“Have you guys been having fun without me?” he pouted playfully.

Tora stood upright and crossed his arms, “Shut up Quince”

Quincey giggled and bent down to look at the enclosure Tora was eyeing. He spotted 2 hamsters inside. One was brown with white spots and it seemed to be taking a nap. While the other was hiding inside the small strawberry hideout, still looking in Tora’s direction. Quincey smiled at Tora.

“You were looking at the one in the strawberry hideout, weren't you ?” he said, slightly amused at the fact that such a small innocent thing caught the attention of the barbarian of a man that was standing behind him.

Tora rolled his eyes, a faint tint of pink rising on the top of his cheeks. Quincy straightened up and turned towards the employee and asked her to reiterate the information about the hamster his friend was staring at only moments ago. 

“She loves hiding in that hideout as of late. I guess you can say she's had it rough,” the employee explained. When she was met with confused stares by both men, she continued. 

“Well you see, she’s been adopted before. A guy about a week ago dropped her off after having her for a couple of months. He said that she didn’t want to come out of the hide out and didn’t want to play with him. Said he got bored of her and replaced her with a new hamster that seemed to be a lot more social. Poor little Poppy over there seemed to have gotten really attached to her previous owner despite his thoughts and now doesn’t really like interacting with anyone.” the employee went on to explain. 

Both men stared at her dumbfounded and then looked back at the glass enclosure where Poppy had finally started to step out of the hideout, getting closer to the glass. Tora bent down again to look at Poppy. She backed up from the glass but didn’t hide. The employee was shocked. 

“Wow. I haven’t seen her do that all week. She usually goes back to hiding whenever anyone approaches her.” she explained.

Quincey had heard enough. He decided right there and then that this hamster would be Tora’s little companion that would bring him peace and joy. 

\--------

At first, Tora wasn't thrilled with the decision Quincey made all on his own. He clearly stated he didn’t want a pet living in his apartment. But now there wasn’t going back. Quincey and the employee have decided on the little cream colored hamster and are now walking around the store to collect all the necessary things to welcome the new addition to the family. Quincey excitedly picked up everything the employee showed him. He got a roomy enclosure so she would have space to move around and feel comfy while Tora was gone from his apartment, hamster bedding, a wheel, a ball for when she goes exploring outside of her cage, food, a water and food feeder, and finally a replica of the strawberry hideout. Tora paid for the things and then headed back to the back of the store to pick up Poppy. 

Poppy was still standing outside of her hideout. The employee grabbed a cardboard box with holes from the cabinet that was set to the side of all the rodent enclosures. She opened it up and opened up the top of the enclosure Poppy was in. The little hamster quickly scurried into the hideout. The employee lifted up the strawberry, setting it aside and gently grabbed her and placed her inside the box. She closed up the box and handed it to Tora. And with that they were on their merry way back to Tora’s place to set up everything for Poppy’s new home.

  
  



	2. New Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poppy's POV ! and she's introduced to her new home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ahhhh ! thank you for the support on this story! Last week was a bit hectic for me because of some personal matters which made it hard for me to write up a new chapter but it's here now ! I hope you enjoy <3

***Poppy POV***

Time with her previous owner seemed to have been going well in the beginning. He would often feed her treats and let her roam around his desk as he did schoolwork. She loved spending time with her owner. She always felt happy to just keep him company. However, that all changed the day he stumbled across a video online that showed a hamster performing a variety of tricks. Poppy saw as her owner’s face lit up in excitement. She’d never done anything like that before while in the pet shop but she would at least try if it would make him happy. And so it began. Days went by where all he wanted to do was train her to perform tricks. She learned how to go up and down ramps on command after a week of training but she was growing tired. She wanted to go back the way things were. He had stopped rewarding her with treats as he claimed she had become “too chubby.” All of this combined made her sad. She loved her owner but she didn’t like the things he would say or make her do. So she hid in the little hideout he had bought for her. When he took that away from her, she hid beneath the bedding in her cage. 

One thing led to another and she was back at the pet shop being placed back in her old enclosure as she watched another hamster replace her and leave with her owner. Well, now ex-owner. 

It’s been about a week since little Poppy was returned to the pet shop. Hiding in her strawberry hideout was all she wanted to do after being returned. The employees tried to give her extra attention by giving her more treats and spending time outside the glass enclosure to play with her, but she never seemed to be up to do anything other than sleep or watch all the other hamsters in the nearby enclosures being taken to their new forever home. 

_ Home _

She had lost her home and along with that, her happiness.

\--------

When Poppy saw a tall man with long dark hair that was half tied up into a messy bun walking by her enclosure, she couldn’t help but stare at him. He looked very different from all the people that walked into the shop everyday. The people who went into the shop were usually children accompanied by their parents or couples. To see a single man walk by was not abnormal to see per say but he didn’t look like any regular degular man. In Poppy’s eyes, he was as tall as the ceiling and he had a strange mark on the side of his neck. She’d never seen anyone with that before. 

_ Wonder what that could be?  _

Before she could analyze him anymore, the man got on eye level with her. Still inside her strawberry hideout, she continued to stare at the strange man that was looking straight at her.

Poppy saw as one of the employees approached the tall man and proceeded to tell him her name. Suddenly, almost out of nowhere, a blonde tall man approached her enclosure to look at her. She was so distracted by the man with long dark hair that she hadn’t noticed him approaching her. However, her attention went back to the tall dark haired man.

“She loves hiding in that hideout as of late. I guess you can say she's had it rough,” the employee began to explain.

Poppy quickly looked over at the employee.

_ I know she’s talking about me. Please don’t say anything bad. _

And that’s when the employee began to explain in great detail what had happened last week. Poppy felt so embarrassed.

_ Perfect. Now they surely won’t want cubby anti-social me. _

Poppy slowly stepped out of her strawberry hideout to stand as close to the glass wall separating her and the men standing in front of her. She looked up to watch the dark haired man. Their eyes met as he once again got on eye level with her. She stumbled backwards, yet maintained eye contact. There was just something about him that struck Poppy. Up until today, she hid in her hideout, not wanting to interact with one who got close to the enclosure. However, the tall dark haired man crouching down in front of her made her feel.. _ safe? _

_ Is he going to take me with him? No way. There are so many others to choose from. No way he’s picking me. _

\--------

When both men and the employee walked away from her enclosure, her heart broke a little. She was really hopeful that they would take her with them. 

_ Get it together Poppy. You don't need a new home. Being here is grea- _

Her thoughts were cut short when she noticed the employee walk over to her along with the two men. As the employee reached out to grab her, her panic mode quickly turned on. She ran the opposite direction into her hideout. Well that lasted about 2 seconds as the employee lifted the hideout and gently picked her up.

_ Welp. So much for that. _

One thing led to another and Poppy found herself inside the box, feeling the ground beneath her shaking as she was taken out of the pet shop. After a few minutes, the ground beneath her stopped shaking. She tried to peak out of one of the holes that were littered around the cardboard box but with no success she settled back into one of the corners of the box.

_ A new home? Will he eventually get bored of me too? _

\--------

***Tora’s POV***

“Oh honey ! This is just perfect ! She’s so cute.” Quincey squealed. “I didn’t know you had such cutesy taste~”

“I don’t. You picked her.” 

“Oh please ! You had your eyes locked on her !” he exclaimed as he lifted the cardboard box that sat on his lap to hold it up to Tora, who was fastening his seatbelt in the driver seat.

“Could ya put her down? Ya shaking her up in there,” he said as he gently smacked the back of his head again. He would have done it harder but didn’t want him to drop Poppy. 

Quincey rolled his eyes and settled the box on his lap again. With that, Tora left the mall parking lot to head home.

“Oh by the way, can you drop me home? I would love to help you with the little cutie over here but sugarplum called earlier and wants to meet up with me~” He said as he wiggled his eyebrows.

_ Fuck _

“Ya gonna leave me with that little thing? I don’t know how to take care of it”

“Just google it honey. You have everything you need !” Quincey assured him.

“This was your fucking idea and now you’re just gonna leave me with it? He growled as he gripped the steering wheel.

“Her. Don’t say ‘it’, honey. That’s mean,” the blonde man corrected him and he looked down at the box on his lap. “You were doing so well addressing her, don’t ruin it!”

Tora rolled his eyes and parked in front of Quincey’s penthouse. He silently grabbed the cardboard box from Quincey’s hold and placed it on his lap. He refused to look up at the blonde man who was now staring at him in awe. He had never seen Tora look so flustered with..well anything. 

As more moments passed in silence with Quincey staring at Tora, the more he began to feel irritated. He didn’t want to admit to Quincey and secretly to himself that he was glad they went through with getting the little hamster sitting inside the box. She was the cutest thing he had ever laid eyes on.

“Quinceton. We’re here. Get outta the car already.” he growled.

Quincey flinched a bit in his seat and quickly gathered his things.

“I’m going! I’m going! No need for all this hostility!” He still managed to tease despite knowing the tiger beside him was beyond annoyed.

Before Tora would reach for him, Quincey rushed out of the car and closed the door behind him. He blew Tora a kiss before skipping away.

Tora sighed and put his car on drive again to head back to his apartment. The whole ride there, he kept one hand on the steering wheel while the other held onto the box balancing on his lap.

\--------

Tora unlocked the door to his apartment with the cardboard box clenched onto his chest while multiple pet shop bags hung from his forearm. He stepped into the dimly lit apartment and toed off his shoes. He placed the bags down on the floor and headed towards his couch to place down the small cardboard box in his hands. He slowly opened up the flaps keeping the box closed and peaked inside. And there Poppy sat, staring up at him with the biggest doe eyes. He chuckled and slowly grabbed her and put her on the couch. She hesitated before sniffing around for a bit and then redirecting her attention back to Tora.

“This is your new home. It ain’t much but I’ll feed ya and play with ya when I can.” he said.

Poppy stepped closer to him and tilted her head at him.

“And ya don’t understand a word I say. I’m an idiot.” he huffed out as he ran his hand half way through his hair.

Poppy made her way onto the side of his leg and laid there. Tora looked beside him and watched Poppy. He smiled.

_ Cute little shit. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll try my best to get the next chapter out within the next 2-3 days this time around ! Thank you for reading~


	3. Ya tryna die or something ?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poppy and Tora are home ! Poppy is confused but happy ! And Tora gets a call

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay ! Update ! Thank you to everyone who's been reading and also thank you for the kind comments last chapter ! I appreciate it <3 
> 
> Shoutout to CopyPastel ! Her #FluffyAndFabulous comment last chapter made my day LOL
> 
> Anyways, hope ya enjoy ! :D

***Poppy POV***

Poppy walked over to the side of his leg and laid there. She looked up at him to find him smiling down at her. She still couldn’t pick out what exactly about him made her feel at ease. She hadn’t even been with him for a full day and was already feeling comfortable.

_Get ahold of yourself Poppylan ! He’s had you for like an hour, he can change his mind at any second !_

Tora gently picked her up and placed her on his knee. She sat there comfortably for a second before walking further to the edge and looking down to the ground. 

Tora’s eyes widened and gently pulled her away from the edge of his knee.

“Shit ! Poppy, could ya not stand right there? Ya gonna fall” he warned.

Poppy looked over at him. If she could pout, she would right at this moment. Sure, she was a bit of a shy ball and preferred to relax but she could handle herself. A little fall wouldn’t kill her. Heck there were plenty of times where she fell from the ramps her previous owner put her on and she was still okay. 

Tora placed her down on his thigh this time, thinking that would stop her from wanting to go to the edge again. 

But Poppy had other plans in mind. She didn’t go to the edge this time around but did jump from his thigh onto the couch. Although it wasn’t a big distance at all, it was enough to startle Tora.

“Fuck ! Ya tryna die or something?” he said as he quickly yet gently picked her up to inspect her small body for any injuries.

_This is ridiculous. I’m not a baby. That fall was nothing_ _!_

When Poppy showed zero signs of discomfort, Tora placed her down on the couch again and chuckled to himself.

“So you’re a ballsy hamster, I see.” he said as he pet her head gently with one finger.

She enjoyed the affection and allowed him to pet her. It had been a while since she felt anyone give her affection. Her last owner wasn’t much of a cuddler or petter. He thought it was “too girly” to do those types of things with her. Well, that’s what his friends said to him anyways. She was disappointed with his lack of showing love towards her but she tried to understand. However, she couldn’t deny that she was sad to not have been pet or snuggled..like ever. 

Now she’s getting gentle pets and caresses from this almost complete stranger and didn’t quite understand how to feel. She enjoyed it for sure but could she really let herself get attached to someone else when her last owner was so quick to replace her when she didn’t do what he pleased.

Poppy stepped back to look up at Tora again. She studied his face. He didn’t seem upset that she stepped away from him. 

_You’re not like him, are you?_

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sudden high pitch ringing coming from Tora’s phone which laid face down beside him. He glanced down at it for a moment. Was that..?

_Hesitation._

He picked up the phone and the conversation with whoever was on the other end began. Poppy didn’t understand much of what was being said. They were all terms that were new to her. However, he didn’t look happy at all. He spoke with zero emotion to the person on the other end and when he wasn’t speaking, his jaw clenched. Poppy noted how he ran his fingers through his hair multiple times. One out of the many times he did that, she was able to get a better look at the strange black marking on his neck. She stared at it, trying to figure it out.

_What is that?_

She hadn’t noticed before but now that he had taken off his sweater, she could clearly see all the other markings he had on his body. Poppy liked the ones one his arms. They were colorful and detailed. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen in her entire hamster life ! But she didn’t understand.

Poppy glanced back at the marking on his neck and then back down at his arms. 

_That one is so dark. No details. Not beautiful._

His other markings were full of life. It was almost like they were able to tell a story. A story straight out of a fairytale. Something that would bring comfort to anyone who heard it. But the one on his neck. It would tell a story but it would be far from a fairytale. It’d be a nightmare.

_Why did he get that one?_

A few moments later, Tora signed deeply as he tossed his phone towards the couch. Poppy was startled and scurried away in the opposite direction of the phone that landed about a foot away from her. She turned back to look at Tora.

_Did you forget I was here?! What the heck !_

Tora walked over to her and picked her up to hold her close to his chest.

“Sorry Bobby. Didn’t mean to scare ya”

_Bobby? Who’s that?_

Tora chuckled, “Ya okay with me calling ya Bobby? It fits ya”

_No way. My name is Poppy ! P-O-P-P-Y_

Tora gently pet her head and set her down again, taking a seat beside her.

“ I’ll set up ya ca-” he stopped and thought for a second before continuing.

_Hesitation again_.

“Ya little home. Gotta feed ya and then it’s bedtime.” he said as he stood up and walked across the room where he had left the bags.

Poppy watched him build her habitat. For such a big and intimidating guy, he was quite gentle. Once he was done building it, he moved one of the speakers that sat on top of his TV stand onto the floor and placed her habitat as it’s replacement. He went on to add the beading, install the water bottle holder, add food to her bowl, and lastly placed her strawberry hideout off to the side. When he seemed to be satisfied with his work, he walked over to Poppy, picked her up gently, and placed her inside. 

She immediately sniffed her new place out and then looked back at Tora.

_Not bad._

“Alright Bobby, eat dinner. Don’t want ya dying on the first day” 

_Cold joke. Not funny mister !_

\--------

While Poppy ate dinner and got comfy in her new home, Tora got ready for bed through his usually routine. He wandered back to the living room after his shower and dressing in more comfortable clothing. He let his hair hang loose to allow it to dry. He plopped himself on the couch and looked over at Poppy in her cage. 

“Night Bobby” 

\--------

***Tora’s POV***

_Fuck._

Tora groaned as he got up from his usual sleeping spot and pulled his hair up and out of his face. He knew he had a long day ahead of him. Last night’s call from Vincent was enough to tell him that much. It’s in moments like these where he would much rather be up in Quincey’s penthouse, beta-reading whatever smut filled novel he was working on next. 

He glanced over at Poppy’s cage, who was already up and looking over his direction. She perked up when she realized he was awake. Tora smiled and walked over to her cage to grab her food bowl and refill her water. From the corner of his eye, he saw how Poppy followed him to the edge of her habitat and waited for him as he walked to the kitchen.

When returning to her cage to place the now full food bowl and pouring fresh water for her, Poppy hesitated before walking over and beginning to eat breakfast. Tora watched as she nibbled on a piece of cucumber he had cut up for her. Tora watched her. How could this little thing be so cute while eating? 

Tora pulled out his phone to snap a picture but Poppy quickly noticed him and ran inside her hideout. His eyebrows knitted together as he bent down to watch her inside the hideout.

_The hell?_

His focus was pulled away from the small hamster in front of him by the vibration coming from his phone. He already knew who it was before he looked at his phone. He signed and stuffed his phone inside his back pocket. He walked around his apartment for a bit to gather all the things he needed for the day before stopping by Poppy’s cage one last time. She was still sitting inside the hideout.

“Gotta go..” he hesitated. “To work, y’know”

When he was met with her big innocent eyes, he continued.

“I’ll probably get home late so sorry.”

She tilted her head, which caused a small smile to appear across his face.

“Alright, I’ll be back later”

And with that, Tora headed out the door while Poppy stayed behind, watching him close the door behind him.


	4. Bites

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poppy sees a new side of Tora. Poppy gets upset, not once but twice ! and who knew hamsters could be this feisty ?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back with an update yay ! Should be sleeping because I gotta wake up early for classes tomorrow BUT I'd rather write and catch up on fanfic updates LOL

***Poppy’s POV***

As Poppy was left to her own devices, she took that time to get a better look around her new owner’s apartment. Not that she could go anywhere far while still being inside her habitat. She scanned the room, which she assumed was the living room. He hadn’t taken her any further back into the apartment so she didn’t have much to go off of. While finally taking a good look around, she noticed the lack of house decor. There wasn’t a whole lot of..well, things. There were the basic things: a couch, tv, video console, cans of strawberry juice littered around, and...lockers?

_Strange. What are those for?_

Her old owner also had all those things, maybe except the lockers, but he also seemed to have things littered in every corner of every room of his small apartment. She hadn’t realized how crammed her habitat was with her last owner until she was with her new owner..

_Fudge..I don’t even know his name._

Her habitat with her old owner was less than half the size of her new one. Her new one felt like a mansion; it was so big! 

She stepped out of her hideout, continuing her scan when she spotted a guitar leaning up against the wall. At first, she didn’t understand what it was. It took her a minute to recognize the foreign object.

_Oh! A guitar! I remember seeing one of those before._

Poppy had seen a guitar once before. Her previous owner had suddenly wanted to learn guitar one day and bought one from his local music shop. Poppy watched him as he spent endless hours in front of his laptop, trying to get the cords right. At first Poppy cheered him on inside her head, excited about the possibility of him playing something for her. She couldn't deny that the soft melody that came from his laptop was relaxing and peaceful. She hoped to hear him play for her one day. 

That day never came though. One night he packed the guitar up and left his apartment without saying a word. Next day, he came back, put the guitar in storage, and never played again. Poppy was disappointed to say the least. 

She glanced over at the guitar again. She could only hope that her new owner would play her a song to fulfill her wish of wanting to experience that feeling of peace she felt when listening to the light strumming of the strings of the instrument that echoed throughout the apartment.

_First learn his name, Poppy and then we can start dreaming big._

She walked back inside her strawberry hideout, nuzzling herself against the bedding and drifted off to sleep.

_Got nothing better to do._

\--------

Poppy was suddenly frightened by a loud clash of the door hitting against the steel lockers. She quickly exited her hideout to see who was making all that noise. When she stepped out, she was met with a very disheveled and almost defeated looking Tora. His hair was messily tied up into a bun, his shirt that seemed to be slightly torn on one of the sleeves, and the splotches of deep red that stained his light grey long sleeve shirt. He dropped the backpack that hung from one shoulder onto the floor and toed out of his shoes before b-lining it down the hallway, out of Poppy’s view. She couldn’t believe her eyes. What had happened to the intimidating yet gentle man she experienced yesterday? The look of anger yet sadness that she’d seen. Who had caused such a reaction out of the stoic man?

Some time passed and Tora wandered back into the living room, where Poppy had just finished eating and was now patiently waiting for his return. His hair was still dripping from his shower but he disregarded that, putting half of it up and out of his face. He walked over to her habitat and opened the little door that was off to the side, gently picking her up and cradling her in his palm.

“Did ya miss me?” he teased, petting her head gently.

_Are we just going to speed pass what happened like 30 minutes ago?_

Poppy shook her head, insinuating to him to stop petting her. When he did, she looked up at him.

_Fudge, he can’t hear me._

“Did I scare ya earlier? Sorry. Just had a bad day at work”

_Will you tell me about it?_

“Good thing you're just a little hamster. If ya were actually human, ya wouldn’t wanna stay here with me”

_Huh? Why not?_

“Not that I would hurt ya if ya were human. It's just..” he started.

“It’s just with the job I got. Gotta..hurt..people. Don’t wanna but don’t got a choice,” he finished.

Poppy looked up at him to meet his eyes but she was met with his profile as he stared off into an empty space in the corner of his living room. He couldn’t look at her after that confession. A few moments passed and Poppy grew tired of waiting for him to look at her. She leaned her head down onto his palm and without warning, gave it a big ole bite.

“Fuck ! What was that for Bobby?!” he exclaimed, quickly picking her up from his palm and held her up in front of his face.

He was met with her innocent round eyes staring right back at him.

_Serves you right! Look at me when you speak to me._

“Feisty little shit, aren’t ya?” he huffed.

Poppy let out a small squeak as she began to wiggle under his hold. Tora’s eyes widened a bit and gently put her down onto one of his legs.

“So ya do speak.”

_Well, duh._

Her thoughts were again interrupted by the sound of his phone ringing from the inside of his back pocket. Tora shifted to the side to pull his phone out while gently holding Poppy, preventing her from falling over onto the couch. He glanced at the caller ID and answered right away. He put the phone on speaker.

“Hey Big bro, you called earlier?” an unfamiliar voice to Poppy spoke on the other end of the phone call.

_Big bro? That’s his name?_

“Yea, did ya see the picture I sent ya?” Tora replied.

“Yeah but it's kinda blurry. Was it a rat or something?”

_A rat? He has a rat?_

“Ain’t a rat, you idiot. A hamster.”

Poppy became offended. She felt like taking out her frustration caused by the comment out on Tora by biting him again but decided against it last minute.

_I am NOT a rat! How dare he?!_

“My bad, my bad. So a hamster? Where’d you find that?” the man replied.

“Quincess wanted me to get a pet so she’s staying with me now.”

The man on the other end of the call stayed quiet for a couple of moments before saying, “A hamster? Big bro, you don’t seem like a guy who would pick a hamster. Why not a snake or something cool like that?”

“What the fuck is this? 21 questions, Ronzo? Just text me everything I need to know so it won’t die on me” 

_IT?!_

That did it for Poppy. The hand that was gently petting the top of her head was now bit for the second time today.

“Shit Poppylan! What the hell?”

“It got a name??” Gyu asked, now filled with curiosity. “Big Bro Tora name-!”

_Tora! That’s got to be his name!_

“Shut it ! Get me that information and send it to me,” he interrupted him before hanging up the phone.

Tora tossed his phone to the side and redirected his attention to Poppy who was now being held up to eye level.

“Why the hell ya bite me this time?” he asked.

_Not an IT. I go by she/her pronouns, thank you very much!_

Tora let out a sigh and went back to gently petting her head, holding her in his hand cradled close to his chest.

“Cute little shit, can’t even be mad at ya”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope ya enjoyed ! <3 Hope y'all have a great week ! 🥺🍓


	5. Who's the girl?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tora is in for a surprise :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys ! So this wasn't the initial plan for the story. To be honest, after the last chapter, I wasn't sure where I wanted to go with this fanfic but after talking to the OneAndOnlyTako, she made me realize how I was able to expand on this story and that's what I'll be doing ! :D So big shoutout to her ! 💕Thank you to everyone who has read so far 🥺your comments always make my day 💕I love the MPL fandom, y'all inspire me sm !

***Gyu’s POV***

“Ya never answered my texts, did ya find anything on the girl?” Tora asked, sitting on one of the tall stools right in front of the bar where Gyu was cleaning off a glass from the last customer he served. 

The day before, Tora had sent Gyu two images.

**BB Tora:** [attachment: 1 image] _9:24 AM_

 **BB Tora:** Find her and send info. _9:24 AM_

**BB Tora:** [attachment: 1 image] _10:32 AM_

 **BB Tora:** Answer ya damn phone. Info to keep this alive _10:33 AM_

Now today.

**BB Tora:** Update on girl? _8:30 AM_

Gyu had taken a while to answer due to his multiple shifts at his different jobs throughout the day. When he had finally gotten a chance to check up on his messages, it was nearly 11 PM. He called Tora as soon as he opened the text messages. However, due to his tired state of working nearly non-stop all day, his mind focused on only the image Tora sent of the hamster and didn’t even notice the image he had sent about an hour prior. He only noticed the other image once he got off the phone with Tora. His initial intention was to look back at the photo of the hamster he sent.

\--------

-Night after the phone call- 

“I swear that thing looked like a straight up rat,” Gyu mumbled to himself, opening up the message thread between him and Tora. 

Just as he was about to enlarge the image of the hamster, he noticed two other unread messages from Tora. One being another image. 

_Shit._

He scrolled up and was met with a headshot picture of a cute brunette girl with large brown eyes that currently looked like she had been caught by surprise.

_Who’s this cutie? Big Bro feeling lonely?_

The man with chestnut brown wavy hair, dark brown eyes, and goatee plopped down onto his couch, pulling out his laptop from the backpack he kept with him at all times. Despite not being in direct connection with the clan, he knew he should always be prepared for whatever his Big Bro threw at him. Carrying his laptop around with him made sure of that. He settled himself comfortably, resting his laptop on his lap and quickly got to work on finding this mystery girl. 

After a few hours of digging, he finally landed on a name which made things go a lot smoother in finding all other information about her, including her place of employment.

_Poppylan Wilkes. Giant Goldfish Publishing._

“Poppylan. Why does that sound familiar?” he asked himself.

\--------

“Ronzo. The fuck ya dazing off about?” 

“S-Sorry Big Bro, just tired,” he said as he took a glance around the bar, no one left to serve. Not surprising since it was still early-ish but that never stopped one or two men coming up to his station for a couple of drinks at the ass crack of dawn. He dug his laptop from under the counter and clicked the tab open with all the information on the mystery girl. He leaned in closer to Tora to keep all the information between the two of them. 

“Her name is Poppylan Wilkes. She’s an editor at a company called Giant Goldfish Publishing.” Gyu informed him.

Tora nearly choked on the strawberry juice he had been drinking. Gyu startled, starting patting his back, “You good, Big Bro? What was that?”

“Yer fucking with me...Her name is Poppylan?” he asked between coughs, still trying to recover from the initial shock.

“Yea..? Why? Thought you didn’t know her?”

“Don’t. Ya forgot the name of the hamster I got? Her name is Poppylan too.”

At first, Gyu had a moment of realization.

_The hamster! Her name is Poppy. That’s where I’ve heard that name before._

However, that realization led him to have many more questions. Gyu stared at him, trying to find the right words to ask the next question on his mind. Tora quickly took notice of the pensive look on his face and sighed.

“If ya got somethin’ to say, spit it out” 

“Ya named the hamster after this girl?” he asked while pointing at his phone where he had the picture of the mystery girl pulled up.

Tora let out a frustrated sigh, “Why the fuck would I ask ya to find her if I knew her?” He stood up from the stool and unwrapped his hair from the half bun he wore to readjust it.

“Besides, she already had that name when I got her. Didn’t name her,” he explained.

“Mn..weird. Anyways, who’s the girl?” Gyu asked as he put away his laptop back to it’s spot underneath the counter.

Tora sat back down and continued to take sips of his drink, “She may be connected to Goliath somehow.”

Gyu hit his head on the way back up from the crouched position he was in while setting his laptop away. A loud thump echoed throughout the establishment. Tora quickly stood up and looked behind the counter, “The fuck? Are you an idiot?”

Gyu quickly got back on his feet and looked at Tora with a stunned look on his face, gently rubbing his head where he hit it in the process.

“Goliath? Thought he was dead?” he began to ask.

Tora lit up a cigarette, inhaling and then exhaling a small puff of smoke away from Gyu’s face.

“I don’t know the details. Just know that she may have something that is Goliaths’ and I need to get it before anyone finds it.”

“Damn. How ya gonna do that? She doesn’t know ya and from the looks of it, she looks pretty far from..our world..” He managed to say the last two words but they came out as whispers. As much of a stoic man Tora was, Gyu could tell that his Big Bro felt sad at the mention of the type of life they lived. Mostly him. Gyu was part of the clan through Tora but never had to run out and do the type of dreadful things Tora had to do on a daily basis. There wasn’t much Gyu could do for him in that aspect. But he owed his life to Big Bro and Young Master Quincey and would do anything they’d ask him to do. 

“I got one of her papers. It says the name of the company ya mentioned so I’ll go give it to her and find it then” he told the shorter man as he stubbed the tip of his cigarette onto the ashtray Gyu had laid out beside him. “I need ya to track her number. If she sends any weird messages, report them to me.”

“Got it Big Bro.” he said as he cleaned off the ashtray. “Sooo if you find out she’s not associated with Goliath, can I call dibs? She’s pretty cute.”

Tora had already turned around and started to walk away but he quickly looked back at the shorter man, now scowling.

“Watch it Ronzo..”

Gyu froze and put his hands in the air, a sign of him surrendering, “Don’t break my leg, I was joking!”

Tora rolled his eyes and walked out of the establishment, heading back to his parked car.

_Damn. Two Poppies. What are the odds of that?_

\--------

***Tora’s POV***

Tora sat in the driver's seat of his car, replaying the scene that had unfolded the day before, back at the train station at Moonbright. He had seen the small curvy brunette girl pop out of the bushes, her brown locks all in a mess, and her panting softly as she clenched a satchel against her chest. The sun’s rays bounced off her entire body, creating the illusion of her glowing from within. _A goddamn angel._ He watched her kick the wheel of what seemed to be a scooter and curse at it before profusely apologizing to it for her actions. He noticed the rip on her jeans, now covered in blood. _Must have crashed into the bushes._ He kept his eyes on her until she walked far enough out of sight. With that, he walked over to the scene she had appeared from, looking for any sign of his brother, Goliath. A bloody shoe and a single page filled with writing. Quickly skimming through the paper, he realized that the paper had nothing relating to Goliath. He let out a frustrated sigh as he walked back to his car. He made the decision to go towards the direction she had gone. He found himself at the Moonbright train station. After some flirting with the lady at the ticket booth, he managed to get some information on this mystery girl. The train pulled up to the station and he watched her get inside, following shortly behind her. The next thing that occurred had Tora a bit flustered after the fact. He addressed her at first but was met with the cold shoulder from her. _Well fuck._ Plan B. He started reading off the text on the paper before folding it into a paper airplane. She quickly whipped around to look at him and that’s when he took the opportunity to throw it at her. While she was busy focusing on grabbing the airplane, he snapped a picture of her. Well, it just so happened that at the same time her shirt, that was apparently ripped due to her crash, had popped open and exposed her entire upper chest. He was stunned to say the least. A vibrant red color spread across her face and she let out a loud scream, probably echoing throughout all the other train carts. He swiftly took off his jacket, tossed it on top of her, and made his way out of the train.

And now there he was, one pervy looking picture later and no sign of Goliath...yet.

Tora snapped out of his flashbacks by the ding of his phone. He tried to ignore it but another ding came in only a few seconds after the first. He dug his phone out of his pocket and checked the messages.

**Quincey:** Come over, I got a new story in the works and I need my ✨favorite✨ beta reader ;) _10:03 AM_

 **Quincey:** And you can’t say no, I know it's your day off 😘 _10:03 AM_

Tora groaned. _Fuckin' Quincess._

He rested his forehead on the steering wheel and closed his eyes.

_“I’m sorry mister, I think you have the wrong person,” the brunette said, dismissing Tora._

He thought back to the image of her walking out from the bushes. She radiated the energy of pure innocence. She looked so gentle and kind. Gyu was right. She wasn’t part of _their world._ She didn’t deserve to be pulled into the shadows of their fucked up world. _His fucked up world._

_Won’t happen. Getting the notebook and then out ya life. Ya lucky, sweetheart._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two poppies ! yay 👏🏻This should interesting to write but I can already predict many funny interactions between the three 😆From now on I'll most likely refer to Hamster Poppy as that and human Poppy by just her name. Anyways, I hope ya enjoyed ! 🍓


End file.
